Movin' On Up

 More evidence of global warming.  The rain fell on the plastic cover, and then froze solid.  Instead of waiting for it to dry it could just be broken and thrown off the side.

   The first story is all framed up now.  You can see the bay window to the left.  The first of 6 posts that will hold up the wrap-around porch roof is in.  The crossbeam is sandwiched between the two floors so it had to go in now, and the post needed to hold up the other end.

  In the early design stages I brought a stepladder over to figure out what design made best use of the view.  I want the bay to be a great place to just sit.
  Near as I can tell, there isn't anyone following this blog to pick up pointers on building their own place so I've kept lessons learned to a minimum.  I will say, angles are difficult.  Also no matter how carefully you try to order materials so it's delivered in an order that you can get to the boards you need and the order you need them, you're going to have to devote time to just moving material.  I had 6 days in a row off work; the first 5 were good weather.  4 days framing and the bay and last three lower walls were done.  I wanted to start putting in the upstairs floor joists but they are attached to 2" thick rim joists which were at the bottom of the wood pile.  Day 5 was spent moving wood up to the wood rack to pre-stage it for the next step.  Day 6 was a family day down the hill celebrating Mckenna's 17th birthday (though I was able to finish getting the lumber up just as it started to rain

It doesn't really look like much lumber in this picture but it's about 8 truckloads

Love

     I guess I used the term a bit loosely, without really knowing much about it.  I liked AnnaMarie and couldn't imagine anyone else with her.  Besides, my Dad thought the world of her.  I thought the whole mystique around 'love' was a bit overinflated to sell albums to pre-teen girls.  
     We had a lot of fun when we were first married.  When she told me she was pregnant I accepted it as the next stage.  I didn't really get it though.   I still followed selfish pursuits (motorcycles mostly) and took it all as it came.
     The day for the c-section arrived--AnnaMarie was all smiles.  I was sick as a dog.  We got to the hospital and they set up a cot for me...they took her away on a gurney and said they'd be back in 15 minutes to get me so I could cut the cord and stuff.
     15 minutes went by in my feverish delirium...Then 30.  Then 45.  I heard all the overhead pages for any surgeon and  anesthesiologist available to report to the 5th floor, but never made the connection.  After an hour went by, this fat nurse in full scrubs, blood stained---only her eyes showing---crashed into the room and just said "You better come now"...
    So I get into  all the surgical gear and into the suite to see my wife restrained to a table, doctors all around.  Her eyes are taped shut.  She's intubated, the anesthesiologist breathing for her.  A quick glance at the monitors let me know she was alive, at least.....They pulled McKenna from her, cut the cord, and said "You're a paramedic.  You take care of her"  
    OK...I'd delivered enough babies to do the simple stimulating, APGAR, swaddling, warming....All I could think of, though, is---is AnnaMarie OK?  What's going on here"
    What was going on was the spinal sedation, Duramorph, was a bad batch.  It didn't work and they had to get the baby out under emergency general anesthesia before it reached the baby.
    So I just took McKenna back to our room and held her.  About an hour later they wheeled AnnaMarie back in as she was just waking up.....She asked  "What happened?"  I tried to tell her, not sure what was comprehensible.  She smiled and said, in a kind of sleepy voice, "I had a little girl?"
   THAT's when I really fell in love.  About time---we'd been a family for an hour already.  That's when I started to get it.

Cold Weather Construction Company

FINALLY got a full day to work on the project.  With Holidays, work, out of state travel, and bad weather, it's been frustratingly slow going.  As soon as I got home in the morning got to work.  All my lumber had frozen into a single mass, sort of like a bowl of hard candy.  A few good whacks with a sledge would free it up.  My concrete washout had filled with rainwater and frozen solid---the kids were ice skating on it.  Wish I had gotten a picture of that..
So the fireplace frame is done, which holds the really really heavy parallam beam up which will support the upstairs...I dropped it at one point and the corner put a palm sized soft spot in the subfloor.  It will be easy to patch and it's going to be under a kitchen base cabinet anyway. 
Next, framed the wall that holds the sliding glass door facing the lake. With diagonal bracing, everything's more solid. 
Next was lifting the parallam header into place that forms the opening into the bay window seating area, and holds the big wall in place (in anticipation of Sunday's impending wind/snow storm)  Getting this beam in place was scary and I have splinters in my neck from shoulder-loading it.
So starting a 72 hour shift right now.  I'll be at work while this storm passes, then I get 6 days in a row, with predicted nice weather, to work on this. 

Thanksgiving Break

 The George Family met us in Penasquitos Ranch (roughly halfway between our homes) for lunch out, at Claimjumper.  We burned off our meal at a nearby park----Rob had packed up a volleyball kit.   It was fun and the weather couldn't have been better---it was the only nice day of the week.

   Day before Thanksgiving a co-worker that often bow hunts at our cabin gave us this wild turkey.  Cooking it fell on my 'honeydo' list before leaving for work Thanksgiving proper.  Two years in a row eating fresh, wild turkey.  I don't think we could go back to store-bought again.  This was delicious and my family, that rarely eats any meat, devoured it.

Raising A Wall

 

Had plenty of time to think about how to get this two story balloon framed wall from horizontal to vertical.  This is the only one that's two stories tall, the rest will be single story and stacked up. 

Kentucky

The Burnett House.  Right in the middle of where 'The Battle Of Richmond' was fought.  Slave quarters to the left.

The draw where the Confederate Army hid from the Union troops then took them by surprise.  A huge loss for the Union army.

What was really interesting was the cemetary---the slaves and masters were all buried together.  The slave's headstones were just as ornate, and many of them had kind words like 'servant and friend'. 

I got a call asking for help evaluating a software product for DHS that's meant for fire departments to use.  They roped me in by saying I was 'uniquely suited' for the eval, which I think meant willing to spend a week in the middle of nowhere.  It was a real struggle to do a good job with some very boring data entry.  The countryside was beautiful but all the meetings were indoors. 

Tried not to think about all the work I could be getting done framing.  This was my small way to answer a call to public service for my nation.   Very, very small indeed. 

As I travelled back to Lexington for the trip home (Veteran's Day) I stopped at the site of The Battle Of Richmond.  Thousands of soldiers---Confederates trying to protect their way of life and financial interests largely dependent on slave labor, from Union forces trying to keep a young nation together and end slavery---both sides certain they were right and willing to die far, far from home.  Right here in this field. 

It was very queit and I was glad to be alone here.  Really made my 5 days away, where the biggest threat was boredom, seem petty.  If they survived the battle they had weeks, even months, of travel home.  All I had to do was find someplace for lunch here in the deep south, then a mere 7 hours later sleep in my own bed.

Housing Crisis Fix

   In my ongoing bid to become Earthczar, I have an obligation to confront a variety of issues.  Today I'll solve the housing crisis.
    I have friends, families, co-workers and neighbors all facing foreclosure.  Typically people got way overextended assuming they'd be house poor for awhile, but they'd have their foot in the door so as the market climbed, they'd eventually be in a good spot.  Others kept refinancing as equity rose and actually lived off the proceeds as supplemental income.  The wise choice is to always leave yourself some margin, but that's not what I'm preaching today.
   So, you have good people that bought more house than they can afford.  No one wants to put them on the streets, and most of them really want to live up to their obligations.  They are just overextended and don't want to be slaves to a house they are upside-down in---owing more than it's worth.
  Here's the fix.  Put together a list of ALL distressed properties in a database.  Sit down with the distressed owners and figure out what they CAN afford.  Match them with a list of homes they can move down into, and roll the terms of the original loan, at the re-figured lower principal, over to them.  They don't have to default and are not homeless.  They are matched to a more realistic living situation.  You'll still have the highest priced homes defaulted with no one to move down into, and the people at the very, very bottom  will have to rent or earn more, but for the vast majority it will be a solution.

Not A Rush Fan

   During the election melee I was accused of listening to Rush all the time and forming opinions not based on what I think, but instead by words streaming from my radio.
   While working at the new place, I was, in fact, listening to the radio when 'Rush' happened to come on.  I decided to really listen and give an honest appraisal of what I thought.
   I listened through the whiny voice inflections.  Lots and lots of words that just never went anywhere.  In the beginning you think it's going to say something but really never does.  I'm not sure why there's been so much staying power; I didn't hear a single thing that made sense to me, out of what little I could understand.
   Geddy Lee is WAY over-rated.

Comin' Along

    As soon as I got the insulation in, it rained HARD.  So before we left for Temecula I took off all the plastic wrap and left the batts loose to dry out.

    With the insulation in place, it's time for the floor tongue-and-groove panels.  They're 1" thick.  Construction adhesive avoids a squeeky floor later.  After the panel's in place it's nailed down.

    You always put the panels down so the groove side is out;  that way when you beat it into place with a block of wood and a...persuader, you don't mess up the tongue.

   A perfectly aligned and installed subfloor can be tested by seeing if a soccer ball will levitate without moving over any given spot.   Here, Patrick is amazed by the results.

  I gotta go to work for 48 hours and more rain is coming, so I put down plastic sheeting.  I'll just frame over it and cut it away later.  It's really exciting to be framing.  You can see where the plumbing and electrical come through .

Floor Framing, Rough Plumbing

Got past a major hurdle---the rough plumbing and floor framing inspection.  There were quite a few little things I was concerned about.  The inspector didn't share my concerns.  He was very complimentary....The rough in plumbing had to be temporarily extended up 10' , then an inflatable plug put in the lowest point of the plumbing, then the whole thing filled with water to check for leaks.  (The plug is called a 'weenie'.  I'm going with large piping so I never have to worry about drain problems...Turns out a 4" weenie is hard to find.  My brother Jim was with me as we went around the plumbing supply place, and had to inform the owner he didn't have a weenie big enough)  Fortunately a plumber at the shop sold us his well used weenie for half price. (Oh grow up)

The inspector was very impressed with the framing progress.  Now the most fun stage starts.  First some strapping (I'm using scrap OSB) goes under the joists perpendicular, then the 14" batt insulation goes in.  Then I can put down the subfloor.  Then I get to start framing.  THAT is the most fun stage of the whole project.  I just wish it were Spring instead of early winter.

The Modelling Gig

Mike (my old partner on HazMat, pre-helicopter) and I got a job for the last 5 days working for DuPont.  There's a huge Safety Council convention in San Diego right now, same place they hold ComiCon.

I only got pictures of Mike.  Once the demonstration begins there's no one to get pictures...We were demonstrating the superiority of Tyvek suits compared to SMS suits, doing a '16602 test'.  Every half hour or so, a DuPont guy would start talking and gather a crowd.  I would be there with him while he explained 'Two actual San Diego Firemen' were helping them with the test...We both had on paper suits that were very absorbent.  Mike had the SMS suit on over that, I got the Tyvek suit over mine.  He'd get in the chamber first and march in place for 60 seconds, slowly turning 360 degrees, while 5 nozzles sprayed water with black dye in it at him.  He'd get out of the chamber and disrobe in front of the crowd, showing how much permeation there was.  Then I'd get in the chamber and do the same test.  When I disrobed, my undersuit was spot free. 

Really, I offered to be the dirty suit guy every day, but Mike refused.  So I had the easier of the two jobs and got to stay mostly dry.  At the end of each day there was lots of scrubbing of the chamber to do.

The pay was really good.  The weather has been wet and rainy so I can't work on the new place anyway so this timed out perfectly.  I'm kinda glad it's done---it's true what your hear.  The glamourous world of modelling is a lot of work.  

Nature Trail To Hell!

     We've been planning this ride for some time...Recently AnnaMarie and I were at the Ocean Beach street fair and saw this poster.  I stopped to try to figure out where it was exactly.  The lady selling the poster and matching t-shirts knew what I was trying to do and said, "C'mon, you can do it; you'd be the first!" 
    I realized it's exactly where we planned on ending the ride, right where Highway 78 'T's into Highway 86 at Salton Sea. 
    58 miles, starting at my house at Lake Cuyamaca (elevation 4800') ending at this sign (elevation 227' below sea level).  October 16th.  We will leave early morning; if you want to get here the night before and carbo-load, great!
    What You Need--- 1) A bicycle (duh) 2) Sustenance 3) Spare inner tubes 4) A good attitude.  We will leave cars at the endpoint and drive up the road a few miles to one of Mike Friese's Salton City homes for a victory BBQ.
    What We Need--- 1)A chase driver.  There must be somebody wanting to participate but not wanting to pedal. 2)Hot chicks to staff the victory BBQ.  AnnaMarie's the first volunteer meeting all requirements.  3)A cool t-shirt would be good
     Other info---this is a fun ride intended for non-riders.  Not a race.  Anyone that wishes to bail and ride in the chase truck will be welcome to do so.  Alternate plan for the ride if the Santa Ana's are blowing (a headwind would be unfun) we'll go the opposite direction to Mission Beach.
    This is a not-to-miss event.  Celebrity bicycle mechanic James L. Vandewalle will be coming from NorCal at great expense to participate.
     Back to the lady with the poster--I may be getting this wrong but I think she said her husband, who is going blind, took this photo and they are selling the posters/shirts as a fundraiser and awareness raiser for blindness.  If there's interest, I'll contact her and see about buying her shirts with this image

Smaller Beams

Perfect combination of good weather and days off and a minimum of other have-to-do's makes for some good progress.  You can kinda see why the big beams went the way they did. The heavy timbers are where the wrap around deck is.  You have to have a minimum 1" step down from inside to outside.  The interior framing is 2" higher than the exterior since the decking is 1" thick.

The part with the funny angles is where the bay window will be.  It's cantilevered out like the deck.  It's about 6' off the ground already, and there's two stories to go---this is going to be a tall and skinny house!

I'm learning to really like the I-joists.  They are perfectly staight and very stiff and light.  The hangars go in pretty quick then you cut the joists to size and they just snap in.  I made the mistake of pre-staging some hangars upside down over some already installed joists.  The vibrations from pounding made them settle down and clip themselves in.  They don't come off easy...Oh well, lessons learned.  The part that isn't done yet is where I have to do the rough-in plumbing.  I'll hang a few of the joists so I can hang the drainpipes from them but still move around without having to crawl underneath a completed floor---one of the advantages of doing everything myself is planning steps out like that.

The floor frame is very sturdy, even before the subflooring is down. 

Big Beams

With a few days off in a row, lots of work can get done.  There was a bit of a delay (again) caused by suppliers---I wanted the sill (the pressure treated lumber the house sits on) to be splice free.  I made a special trip to buy a 3x6x 20'; got home and noticed it was only 16' long.  How do you not notice 4' of board missing??  Then, what was really frustrating, the metal column caps (that's the piece where the beams intersect) were all custom special order.  The supplier called saying they were in; I made the hour and a half drive to Escondido, only to find out my order WASN'T in, they were looking at a different order.....

Finally with my last day off I had all the parts and a whole day to work.  It was a bit scary getting the big beams from here to there but it all worked...It was really enjoyable to be working with big lumber on land I own on a beautiful day---until my sports-freak neighbor came up and really scolded me for missing Patrick's soccer game.

It may look like I have beams going every which way.  I do. Since I really wanted the deck to wrap around two sides, and the new fire restrictive codes don't allow for stacking cantilevers, this was the solution.  There are still a few more big beams to put in, then the rough in plumbing; then I'll be ready for the next inspection.

Cost Of Doing It Right

       When you decide to build something, you have to decide what kind of builder you're going to be.   You can be the kind that does it as cheap as possible.  You can just do what it takes to get something up, or you could design based on your current skill level.  I'm of the opinion you draw up exactly what you want to end up with and figure it out as you go.

Now that the foundation is done, I'm installing the sill plates---the pressure treated lumber that sits on the foundation, and the whole house rests on these plates.  Well, this lumber was at the very bottom of the wood pile, so I had to spend time moving things up to the lumber rack.  It gave me a chance to figure out what was what.  There are some parts missing.  

I wanted a deck that wraps around two sides of the cabin.  The normal way to do this is to have some heavy timbers stick out (cantilever) one direction, then have the floor joists on top of those timbers, cantilevering out in a perpendicular direction.  Problem is with the new fire resistive construction you can't stack exposed framing members.  Eliminating the deck on one side would be the easy thing.

Instead, I have very heavy timbers (they are the 6x12's wrapped in white paper) that sort of herring-bone pattern off each other, with the joists hung between them.  Added bonus--the overall elevation of the house is 14" less.  However, I have to support two heavy timbers on the outside floating edge of these beams, and there's a 6x6 post at each junction that will support the porch roof.  All this requires some very beefy steel hangers.  They are custom order items.  If you look at the picture, you have to imagine it inverted, and the post straps are used instead to hold the 6x6 columns.

I need 6 of these.  Not all the same.  Some of them are $228 EACH!  Whoa.  Not in the budget, but there aren't options.  I ordered them; they come in Thursday.

So, instead of framing, I'm picking up overtime shifts (always available in the Summer) and a modelling job that will pay 'several hundred dollars' a day for four days, which should just cover the expense.

Delays, Delays!

Tidying Things Up

Things were looking kind of junky around the lot after stripping the forms.  I need to get to some specific pieces of lumber next, and they are buried underneath some big beams that I'd rather not move twice.   So the bigger boards (that started life as driveway forms, then were re-used as foundation forms) became a big lumber rack.  It's going to be nice having a big flat area to stage lumber, and even make some cuts.  A lesson learned from before was, working on a slope slows everything down.  Having a flat surface to measure and cut on is worth a day's work....When the framing is done this lumber rack will be re-re-reconstructed as a steep staircase to the roof for that stage of the project

  

Building My Own House

            Once again, a neighbor asked when I'm gonna start building.  I wanted to tell her I'm almost finished----plans are approved, utilities are all in, materials are delivered, and foundation is done. 
             Foundation's DONE!  I've been fantasizing about this point for two years now.  It took two months to dig then form the foundation.  It took two hours to pour it.  It took two days to strip the forms.
             One of my volunteers (Kieran) was tasked with dumping the color (iron oxide, mostly) into the forms while we worked the concrete in.  I wanted it to look somewhat like the surrounding boulders---it doesn't, but it's still better looking than plain concrete.  I kinda like how it turned out.
              Stripping the forms wasn't easy.  First I took out all the screws that I could get to; many of them faced inward so it took some prying and breaking to get everything apart.  Then the task of peeling away to fabric and cutting it.  Very dusty work---didn't help allergies at all.  Oh well---I'm out of the dirt now and can start with the wood stuff now!  Next up is the rough floor framing inspection

The Big Day

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Yesterday everything (forms, digging, housework, cleaning the cabin) finished around 10:00 pm. Byron got here around 6:30 this morning. We started actually pumping and pouring about 7:00. Other volunteers showed up--Butch Paddock (neighbor) and a few co-workers from HazMat---Kieran and Steve (Mike showed up after all the work was done, just like a blister. He still got a grilled sandwich but had to eat the heels)
After months of prep work, it was only 2 hours of pouring. It got to be a juggling act because the concrete was setting quick in the heat. The forms didn't move a bit, and we had exactly the right amount of concrete.
We had lunch and hung out for a bit. I have to go wet it down, then I'm going to lie down for awhile

Last Minute Prep

So, a full load of concrete is 9.5 yards. I need 14.5 I figure for the foundation. The biggest expense is the delivery charge, so ordering a short load doesn't make sense.
So, I decided it was worth shaping and forming the rest of the driveway, enough to eat up another 4.5 yards. It's hard pan dirt and needs to come down about 8" in some spots. Racing the sun but got it done in time to get some rebar down.

The Inspection and Edmund Fitzgerald

Sorry, no new picture.


Met my project inspector---Rob. Rob liked to talk. I wasn't sure what he'd think of the fabric formed foundation---he acted like he'd seen millions of them. Or it's possible that this is his first project, so 100% of them have been like this.
Rob was impressed that I had all my Best Management Practices (BMPs) in place, then proceeded to give a detailed history of BMP's. They were to protect the Great Lakes. He then tried to list the Great Lakes but left out Huron and Ontario. He seemed surprised and impressed that I knew them---I told him just thought of the Gordon Lightfoot song "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" because he lists them all, so Rob was even more impressed that I knew who Gordon Lightfoot was.
Just one little thing he wants done before the pour. He wants me to cut all the fabric out of the bottom of the trench so the concrete will sit on the dirt. I have to have a 20' grounding rod encased in the foundation that sticks out so I can later bond it to the electrical panel, which was already done. Rob is afraid the concrete will not provide sufficient ground if it's separated from the dirt by a layer of fabric. Never mind there are TWO 8' copper rods at the power pole already and I'm grounding to the cold water line, too.
I got about a third of it cut out. He wants pictures.
So I've ordered concrete. 14.5 yards (27 cubic feet to the yard)will do it. I've hired out a concrete pump too. The most I can mix in a day myself is two yards, so there would be 'cold joints' if I did it myself and I want a one piece foundation. A truck holds 9 1/2 yards. Delivery is the expensive part so I ordered two full trucks and will use the other 4 1/2 yards for the section of driveway between the parking area and the main driveway. I have two days to cut, grade, form and reinforce. The pour starts at 7:00 am Monday. Byron's coming to help as are a few co workers.

George Michael Was Right

Lee's post prompted this blog. Thanks Lee

I wasn't born with much talent. Anyone that has heard me sing, watched me dance, and so on can attest to it. No one has ever asked me to model. When picking teams in playground sports I wasn't one of the first picked.
No...What I WAS born with, and took for granted for a long time, is a strong faith. The existence of a creator, with a distinct personality, whom I will get to know better after death, to me is unquestionable.
Before my agnostic friends start demanding proof---let me say that faith distinctly implies that which can't be proven. As such, any faith that doesn't contradict historical proof or physical law is equally valid. Arguing faith versus faith makes no rational sense.
Evangelizing to people that don't want to be evangelized at, is a waste of time. I like the Roman Catholic approach better of just leading by example (true, there are plenty of Roman Catholics that have set a pretty poor example. Those actions have nothing to do with faith and are very damaging)
Half of my hour long commute to work is dedicated to prayer (the other half listening to the news, which usually leads to more prayer) Mostly contemplative prayer, like meditation. Some for thanksgiving, some for forgiveness, and a little for intercession though I try to keep that to a minimum.
Bottom line is, faith has been such a good source of calming and reassurance. If I imagine life without faith there's something good and big missing. From the outside it may look like a crutch. People with faith will understand it puts you more in lockstep with the universe. We are designed for it.

Ready For Mud

Yesterday the goal was to get the foundation forms completely ready for concrete. I was sooo close when AnnaMarie told me it was time to get ready for church...Cleaned up, went to church, jammed back home just to get all dirty again.
I went back and forth about how I wanted to form the piers. Basically, there is a pier underneath every point a beam intersects another beam under the house. There's a 24" square hole, 30" deep, for each one--then a 12" square form suspended over the hole. The rebar all had to be bent a certain way. The perimeter foundation forms are all set, too.
Next is having the surveyor come out and make sure I'm building in the correct spot. Sure hope I am---there's no practical way to move this monstrosity. They'll draft a letter, which I have to then give to the county inspector---who will make sure all the BMP's (Best Management Practices) are in place.
Made use of the remaining twilight to clean up everything around the lot. I think neatness counts. There's enough scrap wood for a nice beach party

Pageant of the Masters

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OK here's the Yin and Yang of it.... I think I appreciate the Pageant more than everybody else. I couldn't help but think, if had made an evening of just catching up at the restaurant, we would have had at least as much fun. But we don't do that---unless you come up with some excuse to get together, it doesn't happen. If it involves dressing up, the spouses jump aboard and it happens.
I chose crappy seats. Trying to balance expense/seats is tricky. We were front row of crappy seats, which was crappier because you didn't get the tier effect and people were walking in front a lot.
We didn't get to visit with Shoemakers or Grams much at the restaurant (AWESOME restaurant---I'm biased. Very Flemish, like Vandewalle) I did something rare for me-ate way too much. Big bucket of mussels, then tons of raw salmon carpaccio, then a huge patty of completely raw ground beef (Beoff Tartarre) delicious! Always wanted to try it and would soooo eat it again.
AnnaMarie's been struggling with some pretty severe pinched nerve issues and she was very uncomfortable, to the point of tears---but trooped through. It made it hard to enjoy things since she didn't feel good. Mike drove us back to our hotel... It was hot and muggy (AM was freezing so AC was out of the question) I had my HUGE DHS webex meeting I kept dreaming I was late for, all on a very full stomach of Mussel, raw salmon, raw cow. All after visual over stimulation. Makes for some wild, wild dreams, let me tell you.
AM's Aunt took the girls to Camarillo the next day so it's just Patrick with us until Sunday when they take the train home